


Your Former Glories

by Tabithian



Series: Cities in Dust [4]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Destiny (Video Game), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 22:38:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4239276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabithian/pseuds/Tabithian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason must have been a raging asshole in his previous life to land luck like this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Former Glories

“I think I'd rather we face the Hive,” Tim whines, deftly dodging sticky fingers. 

Jason gives him a look for that because they both know who would actually be in the thick of things evading claws and getting marrow dust stuck in the air filtration of their helmet.

Marrow dust may make for a superb solvent, but until it's processed it's a pain to deal with. Tim can zap it away, but Jason has to break out the special cleaning tools to make sure he gets every last bit out before it can fuck anything up. 

“Fallen?” Tim tries again, looping around another pair of grasping hands to end up just over Jason's shoulder, like he thinks that's going to keep him safe. “Oh, I know, you really seem to enjoy engaging the Cabal - “

All right, then, Jason decides, reaching up to trap Tim in his hands before he can zip away as one of his pursuers starts scaling Jason, that is _it_.

“Hey, kiddo,” he says, crouching down carefully in order not to dislodge the small toddler clinging onto him with surprising doggedness. “Look what I caught for you.”

Tim pushes against his hold, edges pressing against Jason's hands pointedly, even though he could just phase through them if he really wanted to.

“Ghost,” the kid says, letting go of Jason's cloak to prod at Jason's hands, then suddenly looks uncertain, eyes going big. “Ghost?”

There's a faint sigh, resignation, and a resentful nudge from Tim before a muffled, “My name is Tim,” sounds.

The kid stares at Jason's hands, then up at Jason, and then he frowns. “Ghost?”

Jason opens his hands at an impatient nudge from Tim and floats up to the kid's eye level and does a little ghost bow – a dip and flicker of light. “Ghost.”

The look of uncertainty and confusion vanishes to be replaced by utter delight, and the kid slides off Jason, and reaches for Tim who - for once – doesn't try to escape, resigned to his fate as the kid cuddles him close to his chest, burbling happily to him.

Across the room Dick and a few others from their clan are talking to other kids, making them smile, even laugh in a few cases, their caregivers looking on with something like relief. 

_Clan tradition_ , Jason thinks to himself, remembering what Dick had say before dragging Jason down here. _Giving back to the community that supports the Guardians._

He sees the kids, orphans of a seemingly endless war and their caregivers taking heart from seeing Guardians for themselves, meeting their ghosts to push back that ever present fear of what's just beyond the City's walls.

*******

“So,” Jason says. “Why me?”

There's a beat of silence, and then Tim's confused, “What?”

Jason sighs, tips the chair he's sitting in back and gestures between the two of them with a pointed look.

Tim blinks and looks away for a second.

“Tim?”

“...I - “ the ghost version of a shrug. “You met the parameters,” he says, slow, like he's struggling to put it into words. “My scans indicated you would be able to harness the Traveler's light - “

“Rare?” Jason asks, gaze flicking to the window overlooking the Tower Plaza, various Guardians conducting business or just meandering down shaded paths. There's a small group off to one side kicking around the purple monstrosity of a ball.

The atmosphere in the Tower is so different from that in the City, and watching his fellow Guardians Jason understands why Bruce insists clan members go down into the City. More than public relations for the Guardians and the Tower.

“Given the population of Earth before the Collapse, yes,” Tim says, and there's an almost defensive note in his voice. “Don't think it was easy looking for y – a Guardian,” Tim corrects hastily when Jason raises an eyebrow at him. “I didn't start my search in the Cosmodrome, you know.”

Jason wonders a little, at Tim's slip, wonders just how old he is. How long he was looking for a Guardian before stumbling over Jason.

There's a one-two knock at the door and a moment later Dick walks in, “Ah, good, you're here. Now we can get down to business.”

Jason eyes Dick warily, taking in the over-bright smile and Damian lurking just behind.

“Know what?” Jason says, lets the chair drop back down on its feet. “I changed my mind, we're good, no need to give us a mission.”

Tim flutters by his side but stays quiet.

It's not entirely a lie. The clan takes care of room and board for them, but they're running low on glimmer for weapon upgrades and ship maintenance. Dick had approached them about an important mission after they'd come back form their visit to the City, and Jason, stupidly, had expressed interest.

“Really.”

They stare at one another for a long moment until Jason folds, scowling at Dick.

“What's this mission you were talking about?”

Dick looks to Damian, who sullenly activates one of the mission room's screens, pulling up footage of a Striker in action, tearing through a Hive nest using nothing but her fists and Light.

“One of our more formidable clan members,” Dick says, smile in his voice. “She was sent on a mission to Mars several weeks ago. She missed her last three check-ins. We would ask clan members Patrolling Mars to look for her, but they don't have the experience necessary.”

“Urgh.”

That nets him an apologetic look from Dick, and a, “One more thing,” he says. “You'll be going deeper into Cabal-held territory than previous missions, and you'll need to help our missing Titan complete her mission if she hasn't already.”

It begs the question as to why she was sent out on her own, but Jason doesn't ask. (Sometimes it's best not to, when it comes to these kinds of things.)

A look from Dick, and Damian brings up a still of a Hunter.

“No,” Jason says, because he's also had the misfortune of going on one of the Vanguard's strikes with this Hunter. “No way in hell, Dick.”

“He's highly skilled,” Dick says, like he didn't hear him.

“He's an asshole.”

Dick nods in agreement, smile on his face. “That too.”

*******

“So, good news or bad news first?”

Jason closes his eyes for a long moment, but it's not doing a damn thing to block out the rattle of heavy Cabal slug throwers and projection rifles. 

“How could this get any worse, Hunter?” he asks, because he's not going to call the asshole by his name when he's the reason they're in this mess.

They could have used stealth to get through the defense line and followed the tracks the Cabal left behind, but no. No, the asshole had a better idea and they're all probably going to die on fucking _Mars_.

Jason opens his eyes, looks at Tim. “Make sure to thank Dick for giving us this lovely little mission, would you?”

Tim sighs, gives the impression that he's deeply unimpressed and utters a flat, “Noted.”

“Okay, I admit, this is maybe a bit of a situation,” Roy says, gesturing towards the Cabal surrounding them. “But. Hey. Could be worse, right?”

*******

Jason must have been a raging asshole in his previous life to land luck like this.

*******

“Jason? You in there, buddy?”

Jason opens his eyes to pain, bone-deep ache and Roy leaning over him, face way too damn close. 

“Fuck,” Jason groans, pushes Roy away from him weakly and looks around for Tim. “What happened?”

Roy tilts his head. “You don't remember?”

Jason sighs, deep and aggravated and drops his head back on the ground. “Hunter, why the hell would I ask if I did?” 

Roy mutters something the comm in Jason's helmet doesn't pick up, and sits back on his heels.

“Colossus,” Tim says, dropping close to Jason's head as Jason sits up. “I got to you as quickly as I could, but...”

Jason sighs, pats Tim clumsily because he knows the ghost hates it when Jason does that, and smiles a little at the spluttering response.

“Yeah, well,” Jason says, and shrugs. 

Not the first time he's been dead.

Tim huffs, turns to look at Roy. “What now?”

“We need to get over here,” Roy says, his own ghost displaying a glowing map on one wall of the abandoned building they're taking shelter in. Points at a spot on the map. “To do that, we need to go through here.”

There's a pause, Roy looking at Jason. “How do you feel about the Iron Line?”

Jason just stares at him. (He has very strong feelings about that damn killing floor.)

“Oh, good, then,” Roy says brightly. “This one's worse.”

*******

“Holy shit,” Roy says, lowering his gun.

Standing next to him, Jason knows the feeling.

“Well,” Roy says, “looks like we found her.”

Jason slides a look at Roy. “You don't say.”

Roy shrugs, winces as the Titan at the bottom of the canyon lets out a battle cry and charges a line of Cabal, arc energy sparking off her armor, leaving a trail of fallen Cabal in her wake.

“Think we should help?” Roy asks, just as the Titan releases her Fist of Havoc, ground shaking beneath their feet.

“I think she's good,” Jason says, half-blinded. 

“Yeah,” Roy agrees. “Can you see anything, by the way? The lenses on my helmet fritzed out.”

*******

“So, uh. We're here to rescue you,” Roy says when they make it down to the canyon floor.

It had taken some work, but between Roy's ghost and Tim they'd gotten Roy's helmet back in working order, just in time for him to make an idiot of himself. 

The Titan, easily as tall as Zavala, cocks her head and lets the Phalanx shield she's holding onto fall. 

“My thanks, Hunters, but there was no need.”

Jason looks around at her handiwork, at the area where where she'd unleashed her super, ground fused into glass.

“We can see that,” Jason says, edges Roy back. “Dick sent us to find you when you missed your check-ins.”

The Titan nods. “There was interference from the Cabal,” she says. “I took care of it.”

Jason doesn't doubt that.

“The mission?”

“Completed,” the Titan says, sharp satisfaction in her voice. 

“Well okay, then,” Roy says, jabbing Jason in the ribs with an elbow. “Any other business here, or should we head back? Just asking because it looks like you killed everything here, so...”

The Titan looks at them, her ghost hovering over her shoulder, and Jason - 

“Ignore him,” he says, wonders how much Dick's going to make him pay if Jason leaves Roy here, since he's fond of the asshole. “He's a moron.”

“Hey!”

The Titan laughs, “I have no more business here today, Hunters. I'm sure Dick would appreciate the information I was able to discover.”

“Great,” Roy says. “You uh, wouldn't know a way out of here, would you? We'd rather not go back the way we came in. Kind of a nightmare.”

*******

“So the story, goes,” Roy says, leaning heavily on the table, breath reeking of alcohol, “it goes like this, okay.”

Jason rolls his eyes, looks to where Kory is watching them, chin in hand, eyes gleaming with amusement. 

“A little help, here, Titan?” 

And Kory, lovely, beautiful, dangerous Kory grins, shimmers of light and color under her skin dancing with it. “Looks like you have everything in hand there, Hunter, no need.”

The trip back to the Tower had been full of yelling and shooting and Jason being tempted to kick Roy off the rocky outcropping they were using to give Kory cover while she took out Cabal forces, because the man is an idiot, but.

They made it back in more or less one piece, and Dick had been thrilled with whatever information Kory had retrieved, and now Jason's listening to Roy drunkenly regale them with Tower gossip.

Notably the rumor that newly Risen Bruce had told his Ghost in no uncertain terms he wasn't going to be a Titan even though he had the build and abilities for it and somehow became the biggest, most terrifying Hunter the Tower's probably ever seen instead. (Then again, roughly ninety percent of Tower gossip is bullshit, made up by Guardians who'd maybe had a little too much to drink, such as Roy.)

“That's such crap,” Jason says.

Bruce is an Exo, it's not his fault most people expect them to be Titans, as though that means anything. Look at Zavala, not to mention Kory, both Awoken who are terrifying in battle as Titans.

Roy scowls at him, but doesn't argue. “Jerk,” he mutters, because that's a good comeback. “I don't know why I like you.”

Jason feels the same way, even though half the time he just really wants to kill Roy for being an idiot.

“Perhaps it's time we called it a night,” Kory says, soothing, even though she's thoroughly amused. “I think our ghost friends are more than ready to leave.”

Jason sighs, looks over to where Tim is talking to Roy and Kory's ghosts. Back to where Roy's slumped against him, humming quietly to himself.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

*******

Jason ends up dragging Roy back to his place, dumping him on the couch in his living room. His ghost murmurs a quiet thank-you and settles down next to him.

“It was a set up, wasn't it.”

Tim wasn't surprised to see Kory not only whole and unharmed, but having utterly destroyed the enemy stronghold by the time they found her. While Dick had given this assignment out of concern, he hadn't seemed all that worried about _Kory_.

Tim makes a quiet humming noise, stalling, and then turns to face Jason.

“He felt the three of you would make an excellent fire team,” Tim says. 

Of course he did.

“Your talents and skills - “

“Kind of an unbalanced fireteam,” Jason interrupts, trying and failing to be angry about this. “Two Gunslingers and a Striker?”

Tim _looks_ at him. “You work well as a team.”

For a first run, they didn't do too badly. Got a little dented and bruised, little scorched from enemy fire, but not too bad given the odds.

Jason's probably going to regret this one day, but. What the hell.

“Make sure to thank Dick for this, would you?” he asks, glancing at Roy when the asshole starts snoring, loud enough to have Jason regretting everything already. (A new record.)

“Noted,” Tim says, very carefully controlling his amusement.

**Author's Note:**

> *hands*


End file.
